Freight-car construction.



PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

F. MATHBWS. FREIGHT GAR CONSTRUCTION.

Patented February 21, 1905A PATENT OFFICE.

FRED MATHEVVS, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS.

FREIGHT-CAR CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 782,979, datedFebruary 21, 1905.

Application file! September 10,1904. Serial No. 223,997.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED MATHEws, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Harvey, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Freight-CarConstruction, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forminga part of this specification.

My invention relates to freight-car construction wherein metal sheetsare provided upon the car-roofs, and has for its objectthe provision Vofimproved means whereby the metal sheets may be anchored and whereby thejoints between the outside longitudinal edges of the roof and thecorresponding sides of the car are protected against the weather, andhas for its further object the provision of means whereby the metalsheets are anchored at the ends of the cars and a similar protection isafforded for the joints between the ends of the roof and the end wallsof the car.

There has hitherto been devised a construction comprising' metal sheetsextending along the sides of the car at the upper longitudinal edgesthereof having interlocking or interweaving engagement with the metalsheets upon the car-roof for the purpose specied. In order to carry outthe object of the aforesaid invention, the metal sheets were projectedfrom the car-roofs beyond the longitudiv nal strips of wood at the upperlongitudinal edges of the car, known as faciasin railroad practice andin carpentering as "molding or cleats The extended portions of the metalsheets upon the car-roof were bent downwardly and then upwardly to forma U- shaped fold, while the corresponding sheet of metal upon the sideof the car was also bent to form a U-shaped fold, the free side of eachU-shaped fold extending between the sides of the companion U-shapedfold. By the construction of the aforesaid invention the very importantadvantage was secured of permitting' suiiicient relative motion betweenthe sheets of metal upon the roof of the car and those upon the sides ofthe car, while properly anchoring the metal sheets, without impairingthe weatherproof protection afforded by these sheets of metal, eventhough the car roof and sides are subject to severe twisting and warpingmovement, as when the car rounds curves and is traveling over uneventrack. This construction, however, did not permit of the desiredweather-proofing of the joints between the end walls of the car and thecar-roof. Another objection to the aforesaid construction resided in thefact that the interlocking marginal portions of the roof-plates and theside plates were upon the outside of the facias, so that the jointsbetween the roofplates and the side plates were liable to severe injury,as in the case of corner-ing.

By means of my present invention I am enabled to employ as the sheetmetal upon the sides of the car long angle-irons, one side of eachangle-iron being vertically disposed and the other side disposedsubstantially parallel to the incline of the roof and being interposedbetween the sides of the U-shaped marginal portion of the correspondingplates. I preferably adopt this same construction in weatherprooiing thejoints between the end walls of the car and the car-roof. In order thatthe joints between the roof-plates and the side plates may not extendbeyond the car structure to be subject to injury, such as is occasionedby cornering, I place each vertical side of each angle-iron between thecorresponding facia and the side of the car. The thickness of the metalcomposing the sheets upon the roof and the sheets upon the sides of thecar will vary according to conditions. The sheet metal is preferablyfairly flexible and is desirably of such a thickness as to permit of thepenetration of nails, screws, or the like, which may readily be passedthrough the facias into the timbers of the car and through the metalstrips intervening between the strips and such timbers.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a freight-carconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview, on an enlarged scale, of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a sectional view on line a rt of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 isa sectional Viewon line of Fig'. l.

' Fig. 5 is a detail view, on a larger scale, of a portion of thestructure illustrated in F ig. 3.,

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughoutthe different iigures.

The car-roof is provided with a covering of metal 1, which may, ifdesired, be held thereupon in a manner well understood to those skilledin the art, the transverse neighboring marginal portions of the adjacentsheets of metal preferably interweaving or interlocking, as-indicated at2. I do not wish to be limited, however, to any particular way in whichthe sheets of metal are held upon the roof and arc caused to latch. Theouter edges of the sheets of metal, preferably both lengthwise of thecar and at the ends of the car, are turned to form U -shaped bends 3.These U -shaped bends preferably extend partially over the facias 4,provided upon the sides of the car, and the facias 5, provided upon theends of the car. The metal strips 6 that are to cooperate with the metalsheets l to weatherproof the joints between the roof and the sides andthe ends of the car are desirably interposed between the facias t andthe sheathing of the car. These strips are continuously coextensive withthe sides and ends of the car to secure the weatherprooiing action. Theymay be formed in sections, but, in effect, they are unbroken in length.The sheet-metal elements 6 are angular in formation, the vertical sidesof these angular sheets being of course interposed between the faciasand the sheathing', while the remaining side 7 of each element 6 is bentto partake of the same general direction in which the roof slopes. Thisside 7 is interposed between the sides of the U-shaped bends 3. As seenmost clearly in Fig. 5, there is a clearance between the vertical sideof each sheet 6 and the opposing edge of the lower or free side of thecorresponding U-shaped bend 3, while there is a corresponding clearancebetween the bite of the bend 3 and the opposed edge of -the side 7.These clearances permit the warping and twisting of the sides, the roof,and the ends of the car, as there is thereby provided a slippage betweenthe sides 7 and the bottom or free wall of the corresponding U-shapedbends 3. There is preferably provided intimate contact between thebottom walls or sides of the bends 3 and the bottom surfaces of thesides 7.

1t will be observed that by means of the construction herein specifiedthe sheet metal upon the car-roofs may be held down without the aid ofnails or the like, as the angle-strips 6 interlock with thecorresponding metal sheets upon the roof to hold the same in position,while at the same time affording the weatherproof joints that aredesired.

l believe it to be broadly new with me in the present invention toprovide interlocking action between the metal strips upon the ends ofthc car and the sheets at the ends of the car upon the car-roofirrespective of the peculiar formation of the joints between these metalelements, though l prefer the precise form of joint that is illustratedmost clearly in Fig. 3. The construction of the aforesaid invention wasnot applicable to the end walls of the cars.

1t will be seen that l have provided as the preferred embodiment of myinvention a structure comprising metal sheets upon the carroof anddownwardly-turned at their edges extending lengthwise of the car to formU- shaped bends, companion sheets of metal angularly bent secured to thesides and ends of the car and extending along the same, one wall of eachlatter sheet being vertically disposed upon a side of the car, while theremaining wall of said latter sheet is interposed between the wallsofthe U-shaped bend of the corresponding roof-plates, clearanceintervening between the edge of the free y or bottom side of theU-shaped bend and the vertical side of the corresponding angular sheet,while clearance also intervenes between the bite of the U-shaped bendand the opposed edge of that side of the angular sheet that isinterposed between the sides of the U-shaped bend, facias being placedover the vertical sides of the angular sheets and located below the U-shaped bends.

It is obvious that changes in the details of construction may be made inthe precise embodiment of my invention herein shown without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, and I do not, therefore, wish to belimited to the precise construction illustrated; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentv 1. In freight-car construction, the combination withmetal sheets provided upon the freight-car roof and down-wardly turnedat their edges extending lengthwise of the car to form U-shaped bends ofcompanion sheets of metal angularly bent and secured to the sides of thecar and extending along the same, one wall of each latter sheet beingvertically disposed upon a side of the car, while the remaining' wall ofsaid latter sheet is interposed between the walls of the U-shaped bendof the corresponding roof -plates, and facias placed over the verticalsides of the angular sheets and located below the U-shaped bends,substantially as described.

2. In freight-car construction, the combination with metal sheetsprovided upon the freight-car roof and downwardly turned at their edgesextending lengthwise of the car to form U-shaped bends of companionsheets of metal angularly bent and secured to the sides of the car andextending along the same, one wall of each latter sheet being verticallydisposed upon a side of the car, while the remaining wall of said lattersheet is interposed between the walls of the U-shaped bend of TOO IOS

IIO

the corresponding roof-plates, clearance intervening between the edge ofthe free or bottom side of the U-shaped bend and the vertical side ofthe corresponding angular sheet, while clearance also intervenes betweenthe bite of the U-shaped bend and the opposed edge 'of that side oftheangular sheet that is interposed between the sides of the U-shaped bend,and facias placed over the vertical sides of the angular sheets andlocated below the U-shaped bends, substantially as described.

3. In freightcar construction, the combination with metal sheetsprovided upon the freight-car roof and downwardly turned at their edgesextending along the ends of the car to form U-Shaped bends of companionsheets of metal angularly bent and secured to the walls .of the car andextending along the same, one wall of each latter sheet being verticallydisposed upon an end wall of the car, while the remaining wall of saidlatter sheet is interposed between the walls ofthe U-shaped bend of thecorresponding roof-plates, and facias placed over the vertical sides ofthe angular sheets and located below the U-shaped bends, substantiallyas described.

4. In freight-car construction, the combination with metal sheetsprovided upon the freight-car roof and downwardly turned at their edgesextending' along the ends of the car to form U-shaped bends of companionsheets of metal angularly bentand secured to the walls of the car andextending along the same, one wall of each latter sheet being verticallydisposed upon an end wall of the car, while the remaining wall of saidlatter sheet is interposed between the walls ofthe U-shaped bend of thecorresponding roof-plates, clearance intervening between the edge of thefree or bottom side of the U-shaped bend and the vertical side of thecorresponding angular sheet, while clearance also intervenes between thebite of the U-shaped bend and the 0pposed edge of that side of theangular sheet that is interposed between the sides of the U-shaped bend,and Tacias placed over the vertical sides of the angular sheets and l0-cated belowthe U-shaped bends, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 1st day ofSeptember, A. D. 1904.

Y FRED MATHEWS. Witnesses:

G. L. CRAGG, G. R. BURKDOLL.

